Our City San Diego Sep/Oct 2017 : Page 6

Politics & Civic Issues On your mark … Go! The race is already on to replace longtime Supervisor Ron Roberts, who’s terming out. Will a Democrat finally snare the coveted seat? By Ray Huard Even though the primary election is nearly a year away, the race to replace outgo-ing San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts is already ramping up, with polit-ical heavyweights and a few newcomers entering the fray. That’s what an open seat will do. In the past, open seats were a rarity because supervisors didn’t have term limits. Now they do, and Roberts is terming out — after a rather lengthy tenure of 24 years. Two former state Assembly members — Nathan Fletcher and Lori Saldaña — are among the early Democratic contend-ers, along with first-time candidate Omar Passons, a land-use and construction law-yer with a background in public health and community development. Looming in the background is former San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican who resigned in July with an indication she might run for supervisor. The race has been quick to attract lesser-known candidates as well. Republican Marcia Nordstrom, a real estate adviser, and Democrat Kenneth Malbrough, a retired San Diego deputy fire chief, also have filed papers with the San Diego County Registrar of Voters indicating their intentions to run. County supervisor positions are non-partisan, but party affiliation often plays an important role in gathering campaign funds, volunteer support and endorse-ments. Currently, there are no Democrats on the board, but that could change, given voter registration in Roberts’ district. Roberts, who was first elected supervisor in 1994, is a Republican, but the district is heavily weighted toward Democrats, who account for more than 44 percent of reg-istered voters in the district. Republicans account for only 20 percent of voters. The district covers much of the city of San Diego, stretching from La Jolla and Ocean Beach on the coast to Kearny Mesa, Sierra Mesa and Encanto inland. A similar race is shaping up in North County, where three candidates are look-ing to replace Supervisor Bill Horn, who’s also terming out. San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond and Oceanside Council member Jerry Kern, both Republicans, have already announced they’re run-ning. Democrat Esther Sanchez, also an Oceanside Councilmember, is in the hunt as well. Up north, it’s the opposite story — party-wise. Republicans make up 38 percent of the registered voters, while Democrats comprise 30 percent. Horn, a Republican, has held the seat since 1995. It’s the race to replace Roberts, though, that has significant intrigue, given how the Democrats thirst for a seat on the board. Despite the lopsided advantage they have in voter registration, Democrats are far from having a lock on replacing Roberts, said Carl Luna, a visiting political science professor at University of San Diego and director of the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement. Voter turnout tends to be low in non-presidential election years, which this is, and low voter turnout tends to favor Republicans, Luna said. Nathan Fletcher is already racking up key endorsements in the race to replace Roberts. 6 Our City San Diego | September/October 2017